Spoken Word Contest
1) To enter the contest, you must be a registered student at Florida Memorial University during the fall 2022 semester.
2) Spoken Word is a piece of creative writing that is best delivered through performance. Spoken word includes dramatic scenes, short stories, poetry, memoir, lyrics, or some combination of these genres.
3) Your spoken word piece must be between two and five minutes long. If it does not meet the minimum of two minutes, the performer will be ineligible to place first, second or third. If it goes past five minutes, expect to be cut off.
4) The piece must be your own creative writing, but you can quote other writers. If you reference other authors, your performance must include verbal citations.
5) Your spoken word performance must connect to our QEP, which is Writing with Pride.
What is the QEP? QEP stands for Quality Enhancement Plan. QEP is a plan to implement and assess a focused set of initiatives designed to improve student learning across the university. The focus of Florida Memorial University’s QEP, Writing with Pride is to improve writing skills and establish a culture of writing to improve student success. This initiative will help students improve their written communication skills during the early stages of matriculation, which will enhance writing competencies in the upper-level courses, graduate school, and career/workplace.
6) You may use costumes, props, music, and visual aids to share your spoken word performance. You are also permitted to include dialogue and act out characters.
7) You may seek the help of a professor when crafting your entry for this contest. If you have questions about the nature of the competition, its rules, or are looking for some advice on composing a spoken word performance, feel free to contact the members of the committee at qep@fmuniv.edu.
8) To enter the spoken word competition, you must submit your performance by
Monday, November 7.
Submit entry electronically by video and PDF: you have until 11:59 p.m. on November 7 to send the electronic file to the QEP email address.
9) The QEP committee will select the top speakers, and finalists will be announced no later than November 12. Notification will be sent to students’ FMU email addresses.
10) If you make the final cut, you will perform in the final round, which will be held on the second floor of the Nathan W. Collier Library (Café) from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Tuesday, November 15. You must be available for this time and be ready to perform for a public audience and a panel of judges.
“Spoken Word: The Roots of Poetry”
“Become a Slam Poet in Five Steps”
